Tag: Christian McCaffrey injury

How much will 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey play in Week 11 vs. Seahawks?

Christian McCaffrey’s workload was a question in Week 10. It’s not in Week 11.

Don’t expect the San Francisco 49ers to take their foot off the gas in their usage of running back Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey returned in Week 10 after missing the first nine weeks to work through Achilles tendinitis. It stood to reason that his usage might start slow and then ramp up.

Instead, he played 88 percent of the snaps, accounted for 13 of their 18 designed carries, and received seven of the 36 available targets – the second-most on the team. While that sounds like a heavy workload, head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday after the team’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers indicated there’s no plan to slow down on McCaffrey’s workload.

“I didn’t think we rode him pretty hard,” Shanahan said. “But no, I think we were good with it and we’ll see how this year goes. That was our first game with him. I think he had 19 touches, which I think is a little less than he had last year. But it was our first game back with him and we didn’t want him to go too many series in a row. We started taking him out, I think we did it in between two series in the first half, and once we only had one drive in the third quarter and we got into that fourth quarter, we weren’t taking him out in the fourth. So, we’ll see how the year goes with it.”

With key games coming up against the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, the 49ers will likely wind up leaning even heavier on McCaffrey before they ease up on his usage.

There’ll be some injury management required, but early on it appears the team will be doing that by limiting his practice reps. Once the games begin, it figures to be business as usual with McCaffrey as the focal point of the 49ers’ offense.

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Why was Christian McCaffrey limited for 49ers in 1st Week 11 practice?

Christian McCaffrey was limited in Wednesday’s practice, but that’s no reason for alarm.

The San Francisco 49ers have a new weekly problem to solve now that running back Christian McCaffrey has returned from Achilles tendinitis.

While it’s certainly a positive that the reigning Offensive Player of the Year is back in their lineup, the club now has to navigate managing his injury. Part of that will likely be limited practice work and plenty of appearances for McCaffrey on the practice participation report as a result.

McCaffrey debuted Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and notched 13 carries to go along with six receptions on seven targets. He got through the game without issue, but showed up on Wednesday’s practice report as a limited participant.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan before Wednesday’s session said there was no setback for McCaffrey and that his limited practice was a product of how the 49ers are choosing to manage the injury.

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if McCaffrey didn’t have a full participation in a full practice the rest of the year.

There doesn’t appear to be any inkling from the club or Shanahan that McCaffrey’s workload will diminish greatly this year. He averaged 21.2 touches per game last season and came out of the gate with his 19 in Week 10.

Shanahan didn’t seem bothered by the number of touches McCaffrey received in his debut, indicating he’ll likely continue being the workhorse back for San Francisco. Where they will shortcut his usage is in practice where full participation isn’t required for McCaffrey to be effective during the week.

This may all change if he has a setback at some point, but for now we can get used to seeing McCaffrey on the participation report as less than a full participant.

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What did Christian McCaffrey do, how much did he play in return for 49ers?

Christian McCaffrey looked good in his return for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers got a little closer to complete Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the lineup.

It wasn’t a perfect day for the 49ers’ offense, but McCaffrey looked mostly like himself and had an immediate impact for San Francisco.

McCaffrey played 89 percent of the offensive snaps according to CBS Sports’ Dave Richard. He churned out 39 rushing yards on 13 carries, and hauled in six of his seven targets for 68 yards.

The 49ers’ offensive line struggled some against Tampa Bay’s defensive line and led to a handful of carries where McCaffrey didn’t have much room.

Despite the lack of rushing production, McCaffrey’s presence in the passing game made life easier for quarterback Brock Purdy, who made a handful of checkdown throws to McCaffrey instead of taking off running or forcing a throw into a tight window down the field.

He was also on the receiving end of a huge completion in the fourth quarter. With the 49ers trailing 17-13, McCaffrey was matched up one-on-one in coverage and had a step on his defender. Purdy was under pressure and had to throw early. He lofted a pass into the area ahead of McCaffrey, allowing the RB to race underneath it for a 30-yard completion.

That was the kind of play the 49ers weren’t able to run with Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo. And even if they ran it, Purdy likely wouldn’t have had the trust with one of them to air out a throw the way he did.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan after the game told reporters McCaffrey also made it through the game without any issues.

“He came out great, which was huge,” Shanahan said. “We knew it was going to be hard to load manage him, I think everyone says in the media, I just say not play him as much. We did that in the first half, we did a couple series and stuff, in the second half it got away from us a little bit. We only had one drive in that whole third quarter – didn’t have as many possessions and we weren’t taking him out on the fourth, and he didn’t need to be taken out, talking to him, he felt great. Going to be pumped to have him back next week.”

San Francisco isn’t out of the woods just because McCaffrey returned. They still struggled in the red zone, which was an area the reigning Offensive Player of the Year figured to help. He wasn’t much of a factor there, and Guerendo even got in for a couple of red zone snaps.

That’s something the 49ers and McCaffrey will need to iron out. For now they benefitted from his return enough to earn a win in Tampa Bay. They may need more down the stretch if they’re going to make a playoff run this season.

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49ers injury update: Christian McCaffrey returns to practice

CMC is back in practice.

The San Francisco 49ers on Monday dished out the best potential post-Bye week news.

Ahead of Monday’s bonus practice after their Bye, the 49ers will open running back Christian McCaffrey’s 21-day practice window in preparation for his return from IR per Matt Barrows of the Athletic. He’s been on the injured list since Week 2 with Achilles tendinitis. He missed most of training camp and was limited in practice all week leading up to the season opener. The team listed him as questionable for Week 1, but he ended up missing the game which put his long-term absence in motion.

McCaffrey won’t officially be activated off IR until Saturday at the earliest. The 49ers will have until Monday, Nov. 25 to activate him, or he’ll be placed back on IR for the rest of the season.

By opening his practice window the 49ers will be able to have McCaffrey on the field for Monday’s practice and all three sessions leading up to a Week 10 showdown with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan before the Bye week said McCaffrey would ramp up his rehab during the week off with simulated practices. The practice window opening means those sessions went well. There’s a chance we may see the reigning Offensive Player of the Year back in uniform for Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay if things go well during the week.

Getting McCaffrey back will be a major boost for the 49ers’ offense. Without him they’ve relied more on downfield throws, they’ve lacked in yards-after-catch, and they’ve struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone. His return should help in all of those areas, even if he doesn’t hit the ground running with a full workload.

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When is Christian McCaffrey coming back for 49ers?

Here’s the potential timeline for Christian McCaffrey’s return.

All signs point to running back Christian McCaffrey returning for the San Francisco 49ers shortly after their Week 9 Bye.

But what exactly does McCaffrey’s timeline look like?

Nothing will happen officially until the 49ers’ Bye week ends. They’re technically off through Sunday. They’ll have a bonus practice Monday and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the hope is to have McCaffrey on the field for that practice.

In order to get McCaffrey back for that session, the 49ers will have to open his 21-day practice window Monday. That’s when we can expect that official announcement.

Since the team isn’t holding any Bye week practices, McCaffrey will be ramping up his rehab with simulated workouts during the week off to ensure his Achilles responds well before joining a live practice.

What’ll be interesting is whether McCaffrey can get ready to return with one full week of practice.

He’d get Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to participate before playing in the 49ers’ Week 10 showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If he needs just one week of practice, which is the same amount of time wide receiver Ricky Pearsall needed for his ramp up, the team would officially activate him off IR on Saturday, Nov. 9. If he’s not activated then, it means he’ll need to wait at least another week.

If his 21-day window opens Monday, as expected, it means the 49ers will have until Nov. 25 to either activate him or place him on season-ending IR.

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49ers place Christian McCaffrey on IR

CMC will miss the next four games while on Injured Reserve.

Updating an ongoing story, San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles) was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday, Sept. 14. He is eligible to return in Week 6 at the Seattle Seahawks.

Fantasy football advice: After days of speculation, McCaffrey was placed on IR ahead of Week 2 action, which saves the team a game he was scheduled to miss anyway. The four-week absence means RB Jordan Mason will man the primary role of the backfield, and we could see a hint of RB Isaac Guerendo sprinkled in. However, after Week 1’s utilization, look for FB Kyle Juszczyk to get more opportunities than the rookie. Stash CMC as long as it takes, and be diligent on the waiver wire if you were unable to secure the services of Mason.

Kyle Shanahan’s injury update on Christian McCaffrey is mostly good news

Kyle Shanahan’s injury update on Christian McCaffrey offered a little optimism about the RB’s ongoing Achilles injury:

Christian McCaffrey’s injury status may wind up being a story line throughout the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 season.

It dominated the headlines in Week 1 when McCaffrey was ruled out before the game with calf and Achilles ailments. His injury status remained in headlines after the game when there was confusion about when the 49ers knew McCaffrey would be out.

As the page turns on Week 1 to Week 2, McCaffrey’s status for the 49ers’ game in Minnesota is still up in the air, but head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update in a conference call that came with a little positive news.

Shanahan told reporters McCaffrey is day-to-day with Achilles tendinitis. He also said McCaffrey would have played if Monday night’s game was a playoff game.

https://twitter.com/nwagoner/status/1833572169349271664

While the ideal scenario would be McCaffrey at 100 percent, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards while he works through the chronic Achilles issue.

All signs point to the issue being something the 49ers are managing early in the year. That’s better than needing to sideline him for a prolonged period while he rehabs the injury.

Given the potential severity of a major Achilles injury it makes sense that San Francisco wouldn’t rush him into action for Week 1. It also makes sense if they sit him for Week 2 with a quick turnaround from Monday night to Sunday morning, and with the Vikings’ field turf playing surface. The 49ers are focused more on February than September. Everything they do with McCaffrey moving forward will be about ensuring he’s as healthy as possible for a postseason run.

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‘Real chance’ 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey misses Week 2 vs. Vikings

Christian McCaffrey may also miss the 49ers’ Week 2 game vs. the Vikings per Adam Schefter.

The San Francisco 49ers will have to open their season against the New York Jets without star running back Christian McCaffrey.

They listed him among their inactives for the season opener while he deals with calf and Achilles injuries. However, Monday’s game may not be the only one he misses.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter on the Monday Night Football pregame show reported the decision to bench McCaffrey came down Monday when his calf was tight after getting to the team facility for treatment. He also said the RB may miss Week 2 in Minnesota as well.

“Not only is Christian McCaffrey out tonight,” Schefter said, “but there’s a real chance he’s not gonna play on Sunday either. They play on the road at Minnesota on turf on a shorter week. So, he’s inactive tonight and it looks like there’s a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings as well.”

Schefter earlier Monday on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ reported the injuries McCaffrey is dealing with cropped up in Week 17 last season. They also forced him to miss virtually all of training camp and the preseason.

The 49ers have a quick turnaround, playing Sunday in Minnesota with a 10:00am Pacific Time kickoff. With Minnesota’s field turf and the 49ers’ history of losing key players on that surface, they’d be wise to remain cautious with the focal point of their offense.

Jordan Mason will start in McCaffrey’s stead against the Jets, and he figures to continue having a heavy workload in Week 2 if McCaffrey is still sidelined.

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ALERT: Christian McCaffrey is INACTIVE

Make sure to get CMC out of your lineups tonight.

In a surprise move, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles) will not play tonight, contrary to reports from just a couple of days ago that said he would see a full workload.

Backup running back Jordan Mason is expected to start and see a large share of the touches. Look for more rushing from WR Deebo Samuel, and rookie running back Isaac Guerendo could see a handful of carries, too.

Mason is worthy of an RB2/flex start, whereas Guerendo is a dice roll for a desperate gamer looking for a TD flier. If you can’t play either of those backs, there’s a chance Braelon Allen from the New York Jets is still on your wire, and he could see a couple of touches behind Breece Hall.

Should you handcuff San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey?

Here’s how you should approach San Fran RBs in fantasy leagues.

The San Francisco 49ers transformed their franchise prior to the trade deadline in 2022 with a blockbuster deal to acquire Christian McCaffrey. After mixing and matching running backs for years, McCaffrey has brought stability to the 49ers’ running game since his arrival.

In 2023, McCaffrey became the first 49ers running back since Frank Gore in 2014 to rush for more than 1,000 yards. He authored a dominant season that put him in the MVP conversation and earned his way to the consensus top pick in fantasy drafts. With the ultimate investment that comes with the first overall pick, in many cases fantasy managers opt to use their last running back selection on the No. 1 guy’s backup. In San Francisco, that’s a dicey option.

This situation is especially importing given a calf injury has McCaffrey, fantasy’s consensus top pick, set to miss the entire preseason.

The most obvious choice would be fourth-year man Elijah Mitchell. In his 2021 rookie season, Mitchell ran for 963 yards in 11 games. But he has been all but invisible since Run CMC arrived. In hindsight, Mitchell’s inability to stay healthy helped force the 49ers’ hand to make the McCaffrey trade. In three seasons, the 49ers played 51 total games. Of those, Mitchell was available for only 27 of them.

Because of the lack of confidence that Mitchell can stay healthy, the 49ers need a Plan C option. Jordan Mason was an undrafted free agent in 2022 and has kept a roster spot by playing special teams and finishing off lopsided wins. However, in two seasons, he has 83 carries for 464 yards and four touchdowns

The wild card is rookie Isaac Guerendo. Despite turning 24 in June after spending five injury-filled seasons at Wisconsin before transferring Louisville last season, Guerendo rushed 132 times for 810 yards, caught 22 passes for 234 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in part-time duty a year ago. However, what makes him somebody to keep an eye on is his 4.33-second 40 time at the combine that vaulted him to being drafted early on Day 3. If the 49ers offense wants to operate the same as it does with McCaffrey is he’s down, Guerendo may be the most similarly explosive player.

Fantasy football outlook

Most teams have a clear handcuff option in the event their primary back goes down. The 49ers don’t, in part because they constantly dealt with injuries and timeshare changes before McCaffrey arrived.

At one point, their primary rusher was Deebo Samuel, due to a rash of injuries. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, while sparsely used in the offense, could step up and be a goal-line sniper. The Niners are equipped to go pass-happy in a given week to make up for McCaffrey being out.

Today, it’s even murkier due to Mitchell and Guerendo each battling hamstring injuries. It’s tough for a rookie to unseat a veteran and nearly impossible if the former can’t stay healthy. Mitchell is expected to miss roughly a week of practice, whereas Guerendo is considered week to week after getting hurt during the first practice of camp. As a result, veteran Matt Breida was added to the roster.

For those who draft McCaffrey, Mitchell should be the handcuff, and his RB5 ADP ranking puts him in a position that it wouldn’t be a reach. The reason for that recommendation comes from the largely unremembered, meaningless final six quarters of the 49ers’ regular season. McCaffrey sat for that period with playoff positioning locked up, and Mitchell was given a chance to prove himself. He responded with 31 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Guerendo is not entirely worthless but has lost valuable practice time and will need Mitchell to miss game action before he warrants a roster spot.